Protect your birds from avian influenza

Historic, Archive Document

Do not assume content reflects current
scientific knowledge, policies, or practices.

USDA

United States Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Program Aid No. 2212

BloniYIsKeytoPfotectinyYou Flock

Anyone who owns or works
with poultry— whether on a
commercial or hobby/backyard
farm — should take proper
steps to keep Al from entering
the premises. The best way
to protect your birds is to
continually follow comprehensive
and consistent biosecurity i

practices. Even if you are already ^ *
familiar with biosecurity, it is
always good to double-check
your practices. You are the best
protection your birds have!

Commercial Producers

Complete the self-assessment of biosecurity practices available at
www.uspoultry.org/anjmaLhusbandry/assessment.cfm. The U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) partnered with States and industry to
develop this assessment as an aid for all commercial poultry owners in
understanding and putting in place enhanced biosecurity measures.

You can also contact your industry organization for additional resources.

To protect your birds, follow the biosecurity steps below.

More information is at www.aphis.usda.gov/animalh salth/defendthef lock.

Premises Equipment

• Implement a site-specific biosecurity plan and share it with
all employees.

• Post signs at all entrances warning non-essential personnel
to stay out of the farm and its buildings.

Provide footbaths, onsite footwear, or foot covers outside ali
external entrances and require people to use them. Clean
footwear to remove dirt and other materials before using a
footbath, and change footbaths at least once a day.

• Lock outside entrances to poultry houses during
nonbusiness hours.

• Keep wild birds and rodents out of your poultry houses by
avoiding structural features that may attract them (such as
roof-top vents and overhead wires) and by plugging and

‘ patching any exterior holes.

• Provide hand-washing or hand-sanitizing stations at all
entrances and require people to use them.

• Clean and then disinfect all equipment and tools (including
carts, loaders, and ramps) before use, and avoid exposing
them to wild birds.

• Allow only clean, sanitized, and disinfected plastic egg flats

Secure feed bins and water to prevent wildlife contamination.

Personnel

or new disposable egg flats on egg-laying premises.

Vehicles

I

’ Provide biosecurity training for new employees as soon as
■ they start work and for all personnel yearly. Keep up-to-date
records of completed training.

" Insist that employees not own or have contact with other
birds — including pet birds, chickens, ducks, geese,
waterfowl, exotic birds, quail, partridges, or pheasants.

• Clean and disinfect all vehicles that have traveled to a
location where other birds are present, including feed stores
or rendering facilities, before they enter the premises.

• Prohibit drivers from entering poultry houses or egg-processing
areas if they stop at more than one farm on any given day.

• Require manure trucks to be washed with detergent and
disinfected before arriving at the next farm.

USDA

Backyard Poultry Owners

Follow the six simple biosecurity steps. Make them plart of your daily routine to protect your flock.
More information is available at http;//healthybirds.^phis.usda.gov.

United States Department of Agriculture

(0) Keep Your Distance

‘ Restrict access to your property and your birds, if visitors
have birds of their own, do not iet them enter your bird are
or have access to your birds at ail.

Do not let your birds have contact with wild birds
waterfowl because they can carry germs and <

Don’t Borrow Disease From
Your Neighbors

Avoid sharing birds, lawn and garden equipment, tools, or
poultry supplies with your neighbors or other bird owners.
If you do bring these items home, clean and then disinfect
them before they reach your property.

@ Keep It Clean

Wash your hands thoroughly before and after working with
your birds.

Wear clean clothes and clean and then disinfect your shoes
before and after working with your birds.

> Clean and then disinfect equipment, including cages and . , |
tools, that comes in contact with your birds or their droppings.
Be sure to remove manure and other organic debris before
disinfecting equipment.

Properly dispose of dead birds.

©

r

© Don’t Haul Disease Home

Buy birds from reputable sources so you know you’re getting
healthy birds.

Keep new birds separate from the rest of your flock for
at least 30 days.

If your birds have been to a fair or exhibibon, keep them
separated from the rest of your flock for 2 weeks after the event.

Know the Warning Signs

Early detection can help prevent the spread of disease.
While It may be hard to tell if your bird has Al, when you
check your birds frequently, you may be able to tell if
something is wrong. See the next section for signs of
illness and photos.

Report Sick Birds

■ Don't wait. If your birds
are sick or dying, call your
agricultural extension
office/agent, local veteri¬
narian, local animal health
diagnostic laboratory, or
the State veterinarian.

Or, call USDA toll free at

1-866-536-7593,

and we’ll put you in touch
with a local contact.

Avian nfluenza

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Program Aid No. 221 2

aSF995

.6

. I6P76
2017

Sudden death without
any prior symptoms
of illness

Complete paralysis

Lack of energy and appetite
A drop in egg production or soft-shelled, misshapen
Swelling of the eyelids, comb, wattles, and shanks
Purple discoloration of the wattles, comb, and legs
Gasping for air (difficulty breathing)

Nasal discharge, sneezing

Twisting of the head and neck (torticollis)

Stumbling or falling down

Diarrhea

-I

Contact your agricultural extension office/agent, I

local veterinarian, local animal health diagnostic laboratory, or the ^
State veterinarian, or call USDA toll free at 1 -866-536-7593. I

Whats

Avian nfluenza?

Avian influenza (Al), or “bird flu,” is a respiratory
disease of birds caused by influenza A viruses
(lAV). lAV can infect domestic poultry (such as
chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese) and are
found naturally in wild birds (such as ducks,
gulls, and shorebirds).

Allowing flocks to come in contact with wild birds could put them at risk for infectious diseases
like HPAI.

lAV are classifieid baseid on a combination of two groups of
proteins: the hemagglutinin or “H” proteins, of which there are
16 (HI -HI 6), and neuraminidase or “N” proteins, of which there
are 9 (N1-N9). These viruses are further categorized by their
pathogenicity— the ability of a particular virus strain to produce
disease in young chickens infected intravenously. There are two
types of pathogenicity: low and high.

Low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) occurs naturally in wild
birds and can spread to domestic birds. In most cases, it causes
little or no clinical signs of infection. LPAI viruses are common in
the United States and around the world.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is extremely infectious,
often fatal to domestic poultry, and can spread rapidly from flock
to flock. If HPAI is found in the United States, we must eradicate
it to protect our country’s flocks and to keep domestic and
international trade flowing.

Fencing your bird area can help keep your flock safe from predators and from contact with other
birds that could spread disease.

low Does
Flu Spread?

Al spreads quickly by direct, bird-to-bird contact. It can also
spread indirectly, such as when birds come in contact with
contaminated surfaces or materials. Migratory waterfowl
(including wild ducks and geese); smuggled poultry and poultry
products; and the movement of poultry, poultry equipment,
and people are potential sources for introducing the disease
to domestic birds. lAV can
be moved in manure; on
egg flats, crates, or other
farming materials and
equipment; and even by
people who may have
inadvertently picked the
viruses up on their clothing,
shoes, or hands.

i

5

Ill,

!>

Avoid sharing equipment, tools, or poultry supplies
with neighbors or other bird owners. If you must,
first clean and then disinfect these items before
bringing them home.

Veterinary Services, a program within USDA’s Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service (APHIS), works closely with States
and the poultry industry to keep Ai from becoming established
in the U.S. poultry population. For more information on these
efforts— and how to protect your birds—visit
www.aphis.usda.goy/animal-health/aiupdates.

You can also contact us directly at:

Veterinary Services

USDA Animal and Plant Health inspection Service
4700 River Road, Unit 46
Riverdale, MD 20737-1231
Telephone; (301)851-3437

Photo Credits:l\]e cover image of the turkey is by APHIS employee Joeile Hayden.. .

The Images of sick birds are USDA file photos. All other images, including the cover photo
of the chicken, are by APHIS photographer R. Anson Eaglin.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender
Issued March 2017